(FORTUNE Magazine) – Here's the fastest way to trigger an explosion of firearms sales: gun control legislation. Americans fearing pistol purchasing impediments in last September's crime bill catapulted gun sales beyond 1993's record-setting pace, which was inspired by the Brady bill. Industry experts estimate that 1994 sales were up 60%.

"While Congress voted in more strict gun control, the American public voted with their pocketbooks," says Jack Adkins, director of the industry lobbying group American Shooting Sports Council. The council awarded the Clinton Administration its 1994 marketing award. Notes Kenneth Jorgensen, spokesman for Smith & Wesson: "The ongoing issue of crime is, to a lesser extent, also a contributing factor."

One entrepreneurial outfit trying to cash in on gun fever is Top Gun of San Francisco. Its product? Shooting range franchises. The brightly lit range is designed to appeal to novice shooters, women, and teenagers-who, never fear, must be accompanied by a parent. Says Curtis Cashen, a former San Francisco policeman who co-founded Top Gun with his wife, Carol: "We expected some enthusiasm for shooting, but it's been much more than we expected." Top Gun sold its first franchise this November, and has deals pending in Texas, Las Vegas, and on an Indian reservation.

- Jacqueline M. Graves